Trip type: Personal-ish

Airline: Delta

Route: MSP-LAS

As we’ve previously discussed, there are many different personalities on flights. NYC-bound passengers will throw elbows in order to board first. The Florida-bound group is slow to queue for boarding but will create a line 20 deep at the podium just to ask if there will be peanuts on the flight…and if this is their correct flight…and can they get a wheel chair? The morning ATL rush is all business and over-stuffed carry-ons. Las Vegas is a total crapshoot – and I don’t just mean in a pun-ny way.

I loathe flying to Vegas. If you’re going for fun, you’re surrounded by morons. If you’re going for business, you’re surrounded by morons who are going to have a better time than you. It’s pretty much a no-win situation with too much luggage (the majority of this flight is bound to be people who don’t travel much and think that the two carry-on rule is a suggestion and not a requirement).

If I sound cranky though, I’m really not. At least not this time because I was aces all the way.

Flying out on a Thursday morning can be interesting. Sometimes it’s quick and easy because business travelers either came home Wednesday night or haven’t started flying for the day yet and sometimes it’s filled with backpackers going on long weekends who don’t take their shoes off in an efficient manner. Luckily, not only did I get the former situation, I also got to breeze through PreCheck.

At the gate, I watched my fellow companions-to-be with some level of anxiety (“O-M-G, Shelly! I can’t wait to hit the slots!”) until I was called to the podium. Assuming I was upgraded, I gleefully bounded up to the desk only to find that I’d been quasi-upgraded to bulkhead in order to allow a couple to sit together. Meh. Fine. At least this was a plane where bulkhead came with storage under the seat in front of it–I hate when I have to put everything up.

Then, right as boarding commenced, I was summoned back to the podium.

Agent: “I just wanted to check where we moved you because if this guy doesn’t make his connection, you’re my first upgrade.”

Me: “Well, I’m five-and-a-half months pregnant, so that’d be great!”

Agent: “Oh! Well then. I’ll see what I can do.”

Smoke ’em if you got ’em, eh?

I boarded normally and wasn’t sitting there more than five minutes when the agent came on to hand me my first class boarding pass. Awesome. Seeing as we were flying over lunch, I was thrilled I wouldn’t have to worry if my snack supply would last the entire flight and had better proximity to the bathroom.

As it turns out, the seat next to me went to upgrade contestant #2 and he pointed out that sometimes the surprise upgrade is better than the one you know about. Couldn’t agree more, Chad; now leave me alone to enjoy my Sudoku and nap.